Tennessee is the Most Dangerous State in America

The FBI's latest statewide statistics offer a snapshot of the underside of the 50 states: where violent crime is most likely to occur. And the winner isn't California or New York.

October 14, 2013

You might think that going to California, Texas or New York exposes you to a lot of crime. But in fact it was Tennessee that had the nation's highest violent crime rate last year.

The FBI's latest statewide statistics offer a snapshot of the underside of the 50 states: where violent crime is most likely to occur. According to the FBI, violent crime includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the states with the highest rates of violent crime in the country.

While violent crime rose just under 1% nationally in 2012, the trend for the past 20 years has been steady decline. Crime peaked in the late 1980s, fueled by the crack cocaine epidemic. Beginning in the early 1990s, crime began to decline. Although the exact cause remains unclear, experts have pointed to factors such as better policing, demographic changes, higher incarceration rates, a drop in cocaine use and the introduction of a variety of social programs.